Haula, Rau of Gophers among national leaders in offensive stats

Sophomore center Erik Haula had three assists on Sunday in the Gophers' 5-4 loss to Vermont. Two came on power-play goals by defenseman Nate Schmidt and freshman winger Kyle Rau, the other on an even-strength goal by linemate Jake Hansen.

Haula also had two assists on Friday as the Gophers beat the Catamounts 6-0.

That five-point weekend puts his season total at five goals and nine assists for 14 points in six games. That ties Haula for first nationally in points with Jeremy Langlois of Quinnipiac (8-6--14) who has played in two more games.

RAU ON ROLL

Freshman left wing Kyle Rau, who turned 19 on Monday, is also among the national leaders in several offensive categories:

* He is tied for third in goals with six with two other players, including Travis Oleksuk of UMD. ... Langlois and sophomore forward Anders Lee of Notre Dame both have scored eight. Lee is from Edina and is a former teammate of Gophers winger Zach Budish.

* He is tied with Air Force's Cole Gunner (2-7--9) for most points among freshmen. Rau has six goals, three assists for nine points. His six goals are double what the next highest freshman has.

* He is tied for first for most game-winning goal with three. Junior center Nik Yaremchuk of Alaska Fairbanks also has three.

MORE STATS

* Sophomore Nate Schmidt (1-8--9) is first among defensemen nationally in points. He had his first goal, on a power play, and two assists on Sunday.

* The Gophers, who have scored at least four goals in every game, still lead the nation in scoring, averaging 5.83 goals per game. Denver is second at 5.25, Michigan third at 5.00 and Colorado College fourth at 4.50. Except for the third period on Friday against Vermont when the Gophers had a 6-0 lead, they have scored at least one goal in every period this season.

In other words, the Gophers have scored in 18 of 19 periods, including one five-minute overtime. An amazing stat.

* Alaska Anchorage, the Gophers' next opponent, has kept penalties to a minimum. The Seawolves are averaging only 9.7 penalty minutes per game, which ranks 43rd.

SUNDAY NOTES

First period/ Vermont needed 4 minutes, 30 seconds before it got its first shot on goal Sunday. ... Shots were 6-6 when defenseman Justin Holl scored at 12:18. The Gophers outshot the Catamounts 11-1 the rest of the opening period.

Second period/ Nico Sacchetti of the Gophers had a big early hit on Vermont's Brett Bruneteau, the first line center. ... Connor Brickley scored Vermont's goal at 4:07 from the low slot. Goalie Kent Patterson went down and Brickley went high, finding the upper left corner. ... But 12 seconds later, Gophers winger Jake Hansen scored on a nice deflection. ... Nate Schmidt's goal on a power play went off the stick of Catamounts winger Chris McCarthy.

Both Gophers defensemen, Ben Marshall and Schmidt, converged on Kyle Reynolds in the slot just before the Catamounts scored to take a 4-3 lead in the middle period. The puck came off Reynolds stick and rolled behind him. Before either D-men could react, Sebastian Stalberg got to the loose puck first and knocked it in.